Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, August 14
The 42-hour-long rescue operation to bring out a highway employee had a tragic end today. Suresh Kumar, a 52-year-old technical helper, was today declared dead after his body was brought out by NDRF teams.
The rescue operation started on Saturday at 8 pm and ended at 4 pm today. He had been buried under 70 ft of earth when the ground around him caved in during the construction on the Delhi-Katra Expressway at Kartarpur.
Found at a depth of 70 ft, Suresh had remained behind even as his colleague, mechanical in charge and hydraulic specialist Pawan Kumar Sharma, got out just in the nick of time. According to Pawan, half of Suresh’s hand wasn’t found. The rest of the body (partially decomposed and covered in soil) was brought out with the help of a crane.
Pawan claimed that with proper equipment, Suresh would have survived.
